Embattled ex-Bayelsa gov, Timipre Sylva dumps APC, slams party’s leadership

Timipre Sylva, former governor of Bayelsa State, has resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC) with immediate effect.

Sylva announced his resignation in a letter addressed to the APC chairman in Ward 4, Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State on Monday.

The former governor said his decision followed consultations with his family, associates, colleagues and sympathisers.

“Having consulted widely with my family, associates, colleagues and sympathisers, I wish to formally tender my resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC), with immediate effect,” the letter read.

Sylva, who described himself as a founding member of the APC, said he was disappointed with what he described as the abandonment of the ideals upon which the party was established.

“As a founding member of the APC, and one who joined other well-meaning Nigerians in building the Party with sweat and money, it is deeply saddening to witness how the ideals we espoused have been so thoroughly and unrecognisably thwarted,” he said.

His resignation comes amid an ongoing legal controversy involving him.

In November 2025, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission declared Sylva wanted over an alleged case of conspiracy and dishonest conversion involving $14.86 million.

Sylva was also named as a suspect in an alleged plot to overthrow the government of President Bola Tinubu and is listed among defendants in a 13-count charge filed by the Federal Government over the alleged plot.

Explaining his decision to leave the party, Sylva said he could no longer remain in an organisation whose leaders appeared to believe that “all is fair in politics”.

“All cannot be fair in any endeavour of life. The demands of basic decency and morality forbid it. Unfortunately, this mentality appears to underpin virtually every action, and even inaction, of this administration,” he said.

He further criticised the Tinubu administration, saying the government had disappointed many Nigerians and that he saw neither a credible attempt nor the possibility of reforming the APC.

“The present Government, formed under the banner of the APC we once loved, has disappointed the vast majority of Nigerians. And I can see neither a credible attempt nor any possibility of a revamp,” Sylva said.

He added that he had therefore decided “to jettison a floundering ship whose fate appears to have been sealed by its irredeemable load of iniquities”.

Sylva expressed confidence that Nigerians would vote for change in the forthcoming general election, saying they would “vote for Nigeria” and free the country from the current “stranglehold”.

The former governor also said he had sent a copy of his resignation letter to the EFCC, accusing the anti-graft agency of conducting itself “more as an organ of the APC than as an institution of State”.

“I am fully aware that this action of mine may invite a redoubled witch-hunt against me and my associates, but that is a risk I am willing to take,” he added.